Maybe it's because millions of years ago we looked for prey and predators at sunrise and sunset . . . when there is a changing of the guard between the nighttime and daytime animals . . . and when there is the greatest danger of being eaten. Actually, that is my theory. Subconsciously, we are always on the lookout for danger. Another theory: silhouettes can simply be pretty. :-)

Whatever the reason, silhouettes are fun to take and create. Here are a few tips:

– Slightly underexpose your image. That will darken the shadows for a more dramatic image.

Here's another tip: Think color. If the background has little or no color, add color. In all of these images I added a touch of color with Nik Software's Color Efex Pro. To get a discount on all Nik plug-ins, as well as some of the other plug-ins I use, click here.

I am returning to Bosque with Juan Pons in December 2012 for another workshop. If you are interested, shoot me an email.

Plug-ins for Lightroom, Photoshop and Aperture can be used to add an artistic flair to images. The creative possibilities are endless. Above I used two filters in Nik Color Efex Pron 4 – Bi-Color User Defined and Image Borders – to create a more artistic rendition of the image below.

One of the cool things about Color Efex Pro 4 is that you can add filters. Try it, you'll like it.

Plug-ins can also be used for image correction. Below I used the Spificy filter in Topaz Adjust to open up the shadows, as well as to add some color to the sky.

Below is my original image. As you can see, the shadows are blocked up and the sky is dull.

To get a discount on all Nik products and to check Topaz and some of the other plug-ins I use, click here.

When it comes to getting a good exposure, here is my #1 tip: Expose for the highlights - the brightest part of the scene. In the above photograph, I did just that.

The best way to ensure that the highlights are not overexposed is to check the histogram on your camera's LCD monitor, and to make sure you don't have a spike on the right.

In the photograph below, I didn't exposure for the highlights, and you see what happened: the detail in the leading edge of the bird's wing is lost.

Sure, you can recover up to about a stop of overexposed areas in Camera RAW, Lightroom and Aperture. But in this case, the details were too far gone.

Below are two more examples of why it's so important to look for the brightest part of the scene and to exposure for that area. Learn how to see the light, and expose for the light, and you'll be much happier with your exposures.

Of course, all rules are meant to be broken, as illustrated by the image below. :-)